SEA CHANGE

China Discussing Emissions Limits

Obama’s diplomacy pays off.

The change in tone in Washington orchestrated by President Obama is yielding concrete results: A British diplomat says China is ready to take a seat at the negotiating table over emission limits that would reduce global warming. The rapidly developing nation had flatly refused to agree to any international accord previously, as it claimed it was being unfairly targeted by chronic polluters in the developed world. The U.S. and China combined count for 40 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions, The Guardian reports. Now that Obama has signaled that the U.S. will be self-regulating to a large degree and made it clear that he is open to dialogue, China has changed its tone, as well.